In-vehicle display apparatus and display control method therefor
An in-vehicle display apparatus includes a display portion that respectively displays images on a first screen for a driver and on a second screen for a front passenger on a common display to be visible from a viewing angle of the driver and another viewing angle from the front passenger, and further includes an operating portion, a signal outputting portion, a signal receiving portion, an operator detecting portion, and a controller. The signal receiving portion receives signals from the signal outputting portion, when the driver or the front passenger touches the operating portion.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an in-vehicle display apparatus arranged between the driver's seat and the front-passenger's seat in a vehicle to be operable from both the driver's seat and the front-passenger's seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a so-called multi-view display apparatus, on which different images are respectively visible from different viewing directions (viewing angles) on a common display panel, there has been known a multi-view display with a liquid crystal panel having a parallax barrier on the front side thereof. Different information (images) can be displayed to the right and left sides of the display screen by separating directions of lights through a backlight on a pixel basis (for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-78080). Such display apparatus is mounted in a vehicle, allowing the front-seat passenger to watch a TV program or another image, while the driver is checking a navigation map image.
It is not desirable in consideration of safety, if the driver is able to freely operate the navigation apparatus while driving, according to the display screen of the navigation apparatus. While the vehicle is moving, the operation is generally controlled by so-called restrictions on operation while driving. Under such restrictions, neither the driver nor the front-seat passenger is allowed to operate the navigation apparatus, thereby causing inconvenience. For this reason, there has been proposed a technique that detects which of the driver or the front-seat passenger has operated the apparatus, and the operation by the driver is not accepted (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-248466).
It is to be noted that several methods can be imagined so that the driver who sits on the driver's seat (D-seat) and the front passenger who sits on the front-passenger's seat (P-seat) respectively operate or change the image for the driver's seat screen and that for the front-passenger's seat screen. For example, there may be provided manual operation buttons dedicated for the driver's seat screen and those dedicated for the front-passenger's seat screen. There may be provided a manual operation button to set the priority for operation to any one of the operation on the driver's seat screen and that on the front-passenger's seat screen.
If there are provided the manual operation buttons dedicated for the driver's seat screen and those dedicated for the front-passenger's seat screen, the number of necessary manual operation buttons is significantly increased as compared to that necessary for a single-view display apparatus. Also, if there is provided the manual operation button to set the priority for operation, a manual operation is necessary for setting the priority for operation, and in addition, another operation is necessary for selectively changing the priority for operation, resulting in a complex operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a display apparatus in which a width of a chassis provided at sides of a display screen can be narrowed.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-vehicle display apparatus including: a display portion that respectively displays images on a first screen for a driver and on a second screen for a front passenger on a common display to be visible from a viewing angle of the driver and another viewing angle from the front passenger; an operating portion by which various functions are operated by use of the first screen for the driver and the second screen for the front passenger; a signal outputting portion that respectively output different signals from the driver and the front passenger; a signal receiving portion that receives the signals from the signal outputting portion; an operator detecting portion that detects which of the driver or the front passenger operates on the basis of the signals received by the signal receiving portion; and a controller that implements different processes, when the operator detecting portion detects that the driver operates the operating portion and when the operator detecting portion detects that the front passenger operates the operating portion, wherein the signal receiving portion receives the signals from the signal outputting portion, when the driver or the front passenger touches the operating portion.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-vehicle display apparatus including: a display portion that respectively displays images on a first screen for a driver and on a second screen for a front passenger on a common display to be visible from a viewing angle of the driver and another viewing angle from the front passenger; an operating portion by which various functions are operated by use of the first screen for the driver and the second screen for the front passenger; a signal outputting portion that respectively output different signals between the driver and the front passenger; a signal receiving portion that receives the signals from the signal outputting portion; an operator detecting portion that detects which of the driver or the front passenger operates on the basis of the signals received by the signal receiving portion; and a controller that implements different processes, when the operator detecting portion detects that the driver operates the operating portion and when the operator detecting portion detects that the front passenger operates the operating portion, wherein the signals output from the signal outputting portion are received by the signal receiving portion through the driver or the front passenger.
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings, wherein:
A description will now be given, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
The display 100 includes a liquid crystal panel, backlight, parallax barrier, and the like, as will also be described later. A first image IM1 based on the first image data DT1 and a second image IM2 based on the second image data DT2 are displayed on a common display so that an observer OBR can watch the first image IM1 from a right-hand direction and an observer OBL can watch the second image IM2 from a left-hand direction. The configuration of the display 100 will also be described later in detail.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
The controller 20 is connected to: a camera 310 that captures images of surroundings and the like of the vehicle; a compact disc/mini disc (CD/MD) reproducing portion 320 that reproduces music or images; a radio receiver 330 that receives radio waves via an antenna; a TV receiver 340 that receives TV waves via an antenna through a selector; a digital versatile disc (DVD) reproducing portion 350 that reproduces music information and images in a DVD; a hard disc (HD) reproducing portion 360 that reproduces images and music information stored in a HD; a navigation portion 370 that outputs maps or route guide images on the basis of road information received by a VICS information receiver 371 and geographic information received by a GPS information receiver 372; and the like, so as to send and receive data and control the afore-described components, which are mounted in a vehicle and respectively serve as supply sources supplying images and sound, as illustrated in
The controller 20 is also connected to: an external memory 140 stores various kinds of data; the operating portion 150 provided for operating the display apparatus; a brightness detecting sensor 190 composed of a light switch or a light sensor to detect the brightness inside the vehicle; a passenger detecting sensor 200 composed of a pressure-sensitive sensor or the like on the driver's seat or the front passenger's seat to detect a passenger in the vehicle; and the like. The controller 20 enables various controls on the basis of various kinds of data obtained from the aforementioned components. In addition, the operation portion 150 is provided with an operator detecting portion 162, described later.
The distribution circuit 30, as illustrated in
A sound adjusting circuit 60 adjusts the sound data supplied from the distribution circuit 30 to output to a speaker 61, as illustrated in
Each of the first image quality adjusting circuit 50A and the second image quality adjusting circuit 50B, by reference to
Referring now to
The VRAM 73 retains the image data on which the first image data and the second image data are superimposed. Such superimposed image data corresponds to respective pixels of the display 100. The liquid crystal panel driving portion 74 is a circuit that drives the liquid crystal panel 110, described later, and also drives the corresponding pixels of the liquid crystal panel 110, on the basis of the superimposed image data retained in the VRAM 73.
The display 100 includes: the liquid crystal panel 110; a backlight 120 that sheds illuminated lights from the backside of the liquid crystal panel 110; the touch panel 130 provided for inputting a signal to operate the display apparatus; and the like, as illustrated in
Referring now to
The above-described liquid crystal panel 110 has a display screen in which, for example, 800 pixels are arranged in a horizontal direction and 480 pixels in a vertical direction, as illustrated in
The parallax barrier 115 is formed in a stripe-shaped manner, and includes shielding portions and transmitting portions, as illustrated in
Referring now to
Referring now to
The memory 140 may be composed, for example, of a non-volatile memory that is electrically rewritable such as a flash memory or the like, or may be composed of a volatile memory with battery backup to store data necessary for control by the controller 20. Vehicle information such as a handle position of the vehicle is stored.
A description will now be given of operator detecting portions 161 and 162. The operator detecting portions 161 and 162 compose a signal receiving portion. The operator detecting portion 161 detects the person who operates the touch panel 130, namely, which of the operator on the driver's seat DS (hereinafter, simply referred to as D-seat operator) or the operator on the front passenger's seat AS (hereinafter, simply referred to as P-seat operator) operates the touch panel 130. Then, the operator detecting portions 161 may output a detection signal to the controller 20. The operator detecting portions 162 detects the person who operates the operating portion 150 composed of the operation buttons 151 and the switch button 152, namely, which of the D-seat operator or the P-seat operator operates the operating portion 150. Then, the operator detecting portion 162 may output the detection signal to the controller 20. In other words, the operator detecting portions 161 and 162 detect the signals respectively generated from the driver's seat DS and from the front passenger's seat AS by means of sensors, so as to detect which operator operates, the D-seat operator or the P-seat operator operates.
The detection of the operator who operates the touch panel 130 or the operating portion 150 may be enabled by, for example, applying electronic pulse signals or vibrations of different frequencies to the D-seat operator and the P-seat operator. When each of the operators touches the touch panel 130 or the operating portion 150, the frequency of the electronic signal or vibration can be identified by the controller 20. However, the present invention is not limited to the afore-mentioned detection method. Alternative detection method may be employed, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-248466.
Here, a description will now be given of an example of an operator determination method, by use of signals detected by the operator detecting portion 161 or the operator detecting portion 162, according to an aspect of the present invention. The controller 20 determines whether the P-seat operator or the D-seat operator operates the touch panel 130 or the operating portion 150. As shown in
More specifically, for example, the touch panel 130 may utilize electrostatic capacitance technology such that the electrostatic capacitance varies in proportion to distances to a touched position from four corners of the sensor. The oscillation signal output from the transmitter is stored in a human body as an electric charge, since the human body serves as a capacitor (also known as human body communication technology). When the operator touches the touch panel 130, the electric charge at the touched position changes, according to the control signals supplied from the controller 20. Thus, the controller 20 determines whether the signal is output from the D-seat transmitter 171 or the P-seat transmitter 172, on the basis of the electrostatic capacitance detected at the touch panel 130, so as to determine which of the D-seat operator or the P-seat operator operates the touch panel 130. Subsequently, according to the afore-described determination result and the touched position of the operator's finger, the display apparatus operates in response to the touched position on the display screen.
Referring now to
The controller 20 determines whether the operation is performed on the in-vehicle display apparatus on the basis of the signal applied from the operation buttons 151 or the touch panel 130 (step ST1). If the operation is not performed, the processing is terminated. If the operation buttons 151 or the touch panel 130 is operated, the controller 20 determines (detects) whether the operator is the D-seat operator or the P-seat operator. This determination (detection) is made based on the detection signals output from the operator detecting portions 161 and 162.
If the operation is made by the D-seat operator, the D-seat image is displayed in response to the content of the operation (step ST3). If the operation is made by the P-seat operator, the P-seat image is displayed in response to the content of the operation (step ST4). As shown in
As described above, the D-seat image IM1 and the P-seat image IM2 can be operated independently, by detecting the operator of the various operation buttons 151 or the touch panel 130. For example, as shown in
A description will now be given, with reference to
The controller 20 determines whether the vehicle is moving on the basis of the signal from a speed sensor 210, as shown in
The controller 20 determines whether the operating portion 150 or the touch panel 130 is operated (step ST22). If the operating portion 150 or the touch panel 130 is operated, the controller 20 determines whether the operator is the D-seat operator or the P-seat operator (step ST23).
If the operation is made by the D-seat operator, the operation is not accepted and processing is terminated. If the operation is made by the P-seat operator, the P-seat image IM2 is displayed on the screen for the P-seat operator (step ST24).
The television picture is displayed as the P-seat image and the navigation image is displayed as the D-seat image, for example, as shown in
In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the so-called multi-view display apparatus is configured in such a manner that the D-seat operator and the P-seat operator are detected to implement the display control process on the respective display screens. Meanwhile, the so-called single-view display apparatus may be configured in such a manner that the operation buttons such as a switch or the touch panel commonly used by the D-seat operator and the P-seat operator have different functions according to the respective operators, by use of the detection result of the D-seat operator and the P-seat operator.
In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the description has been given of a case where one of the D-seat operator and the P-seat operator operates. However, it is possible to imagine that, for example, the D-seat operator and the P-seat operator operate the various operation buttons almost simultaneously. In such a case, the operation priority or the like may be predetermined to one of the D-seat operator and the P-seat operator.
In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the description has been given of a case where the display on the screen is controlled by operating the operation buttons (operating portion). However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and is applicable to various functions such as audio output function, volume control function, or the like, in addition to the display function of the display apparatus.
In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the description has been given of the liquid crystal display apparatus mounted in a vehicle as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and is applicable to any in-vehicle display apparatus.
The description heretofore has been given of a case where the driver sits on a right-hand side in an automobile and the front-seat passenger sits on a left-hand side, however, the present invention is not limited thereto. The driver may sit on a left-hand side and the front-seat passenger may sit on a right-hand side in an automobile.
The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned exemplary embodiments, and other embodiments, variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The present invention is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-341802 filed on Nov. 28, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Claims
1. An in-vehicle display apparatus comprising:
- a display portion that respectively and simultaneously displays a first image visible in a first viewing direction for a driver and a second image visible in a second viewing direction for a front passenger on a common display;
- an operating portion by which various functions are operated by use of the first image for the driver and the second image for the front passenger;
- a signal outputting portion that respectively output different signals from the driver and the front passenger;
- a signal receiving portion that receives the signals output from the signal outputting portion;
- an operator detecting portion that detects which of the driver or the front passenger operates on the basis of the signals received by the signal receiving portion; and
- a controller that implements different processes, when the operator detecting portion detects that the driver operates the operating portion and when the operator detecting portion detects that the front passenger operates the operating portion,
- wherein the signal receiving portion is located to receive the signals from the signal outputting portion, when the driver or the front passenger touches the operating portion, and
- the first image and second image are full-screen during operation such that each of the first image and second image appears to encompass the entire common display when viewed from their respective viewing directions.
2. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal outputting portion includes a first signal outputting portion and a second signal outputting portion that are respectively provided for the driver and for the front passenger, the first signal outputting portion outputting a first signal, the second signal outputting portion outputting a second signal.
3. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display portion is a Twisted Nematic liquid crystal display.
4. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the common display includes a touch panel responsive to physical contact.
5. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the touch panel is the signal receiving portion and receives the signals output from the signal outputting portion from a body of the driver or that of the front passenger after the signals have traveled through the body of the driver or that of the front passenger to determine which of the driver or the front passenger operates the operating portion when the driver or the front passenger contacts the touch panel.
6. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the touch panel is the operating portion and the various functions are performed by the driver or the front passenger touching commands displayed on the first image and second image, respectively.
7. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a speed sensor that outputs a signal on the basis of the speed of the vehicle,
- wherein the controller determines whether the vehicle is moving on the basis of the signal output from the speed sensor, and
- when the operator detecting portion determines that the driver operates the operating portion, the controller rejects operations made by the driver and terminates processing and when the operating detecting portion determines that the front passenger operates the operating portion, the controller accepts operations made by the front passenger and performs processing.
8. An in-vehicle display apparatus comprising:
- a display portion that respectively displays images on a first screen for a driver and on a second screen for a front passenger on a common display to be visible from a viewing angle of the driver and another viewing angle from the front passenger;
- an operating portion by which various functions are operated by use of the first screen for the driver and the second screen for the front passenger;
- a signal outputting portion that respectively output different signals between the driver and the front passenger;
- a signal receiving portion that receives the signals output from the signal outputting portion;
- an operator detecting portion that detects which the driver or the front passenger operates on the basis of the signals received by the signal receiving portion; and
- a controller that implements different processes, when the operator detecting portion detects that the driver operates the operating portion and when the operator detecting portion detects that the front passenger operates the operating portion,
- wherein the signals output from the signal outputting portion are received by the signal receiving portion through the driver or the front passenger.
9. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the signal outputting portion includes a first signal outputting portion and a second signal outputting portion that are respectively provided for the driver and for the front passenger, the first signal outputting portion outputting a first signal, the second signal outputting portion outputting a second signal.
10. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first signal and the second signal are different from each other and the operator detecting portion determines which of the driver or the front passenger operates the display device by determining which of the first signal or second signal is received by the signal receiving portion.
11. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first signal and the second signal are the same and the operator detecting portion determines which of the driver or the front passenger operates the display device by measuring the electrostatic capacitance of the operator on the based on the first signal and second signal received by the signal receiving portion.
12. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the signals are respectively output from the signal outputting portion through a body of the driver or that of the front passenger to the signal receiving portion to determine which of the driver or the front passenger operates the operating portion.
13. The in-vehicle display apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein when the operator detecting portion determines that the driver operates the operating portion, the controller performs processes that only affect the first image and when the operator detecting portion determines that the front passenger operates the operating portion, the controller performs processes that only affect the second image.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Oct 19, 2006
Date of Patent: Jul 28, 2009
Patent Publication Number: 20070129864
Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (Kobe)
Inventors: Shinya Tanaka (Kobe), Hironori Shiroto (Kobe), Kiyoshi Hamatani (Kobe), Kazuhiro Yoshiyama (Kobe)
Primary Examiner: Kevin M Nguyen
Attorney: Oliff & Berridge, PLC
Application Number: 11/583,076
International Classification: G09G 5/00 (20060101); G06F 3/041 (20060101);